How did IndyCar revolutionize motorsport safety in 2002? All you need to know

America's highest class of open-wheel racing, IndyCar, has been around since the 1920s. Over the years, it has evolved 10-fold in terms of all its aspects, and one such area that saw a major breakthrough was driver and track officials' safety.

In line with this, the SAFER (Strategic Accident Mitigation Engineering) barrier was announced in 2002 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Then-track President Tony George put in millions of dollars to fund the whole operation of the soft wall. It was developed by Dr. Dean Sicking at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Since then, the wall has been used all over the globe and has worked well in the various motorsport categories. In the concept, a few layers are put one after the other between the spaces in two walls. Its main purpose is to absorb kinetic energy during high-speed crashes so that the drivers don't sustain major injuries.

While the SAFER wall has revolutionized the world of motorsport, it is not used in Formula 1 as extensively. In the pinnacle of motorsport, a variety of barriers are used, from TECH PRO to Nylon Straps for energy dissipation. However, the barrier has been used in the circuits in Baku, Canada, and Jeddah, as well as sections of Zandvoort and Interlagos.

Dean Sicking was also presented with the Landmark Award as part of NASCAR's Hall of Fame Class of 2025 for his contributions to safety in motorsports with his pioneering designs.

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Josef Newgarden's take on introduction of aeroscreen in IndyCar for driver safety

Josef Newgarden prepares during the INDYCAR Open Testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Source: Getty

While IndyCar has done wonders to improve driver safety in motorsports, one of its modern greats, Josef Newgarden, took the time to give his take on the introduction of the aeroscreen for driver safety in IndyCar back in 2020.

The Team Penske driver specifically shed light on how he found the additional challenge of driving IndyCars with the aeroscreen. He also agreed with fellow driver Felix Rosenqvist's assessment of high temperatures in the cockpit because of the aeroscreen.

"I can definitely relate. I prefer to have a more grueling environment physically: I put a lot of emphasis on my fitness so just making it more difficult to cope was a positive to separate myself from the pack. But there is a limit. IndyCar worked really hard to provide solutions and we have gotten things in a window now where they are reasonable for the entire field. But no doubt, it’s harder now and the cars are more demanding," Newgarden said.

Josef Newgarden has been competing in America's highest class of open-wheel racing since 2012. He has so far managed over 200 race starts and has put on board 31 wins, 58 podiums, and 18 pole positions. Moreover, he has also won the prestigious Indy 500 twice (2023 and 2024) and the IndyCar championship title twice, in 2017 and 2019.

In last year's 17-race campaign, he managed an eighth-place finish in the drivers' standings with 401 points. Newgarden has the rare chance of winning a third consecutive Indy 500 title in this month's event.